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Obdulio Morales Mill |
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Many years ago a common carrier railway, the FC Caibarién - Morón, ran from Caibarién east to Chambas where it connected with the main line to Morón. The through route lasted until the 1960s when Brill cars provided a passenger service. Although it has fallen into disuse, its trackbed is still used in parts by Obdulio Morales Mill near the town of Yaguajay. Obdulio Morales and nearby Simón Bolivar Mills have a history and operation which are inextricably entwined, not least because their railways (and the former common carrier) operate on the unusual gauge of 2ft 3½in. (A second common carrier railway of 3ft 0in gauge ran south from Caibarién to Placetas serving the mills at Heriberto Duquesne, Hermanos Ameijeiras, Chiquitico Fabregat and Benito Juárez.) Obdulio Morales Mill was originally known as Central Narcisa. Although it has operated diesels for some time, until recently steam was used on its two field lines running east and west, the latter being popular with photographers as it was readily accessible and ran through typical Cuban villages on its way to Seibabo. Unfortunately, steam activity has declined markedly in recent years as maintenance standards dipped and by 1999 all remaining serviceable locomotives had been sent to Simón Bolivar Mill. Apart from the pictures in this section, it is worth mentioning that a number of postcards of old locomotives in this area have been used in the history section of the main Zafra sequence. |
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